With an Open Heart
by Kanthia
Summary: A series of Zelda drabbles written in part for the 365 Drabble Challenge. Contains spoilers. 16: No journey is complete without a little self-reflection, but Link's has left him in pieces.
1. I Dreamt of a Stone

**Title**: I Dreamt of a Stone  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Phantom Hourglass, Link's Awakening)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Oshus, Link  
Warning(s): Spoilers for the end of the games, flagrant abuse of reincarnation theory.  
Genre: Gen

"I've seen you before," Oshus says, the voice coming from his entire body rather than from one distinct source. Across the ruined plank of wood, Linebeck examines his newly resurrected vessel, and Tetra is leaning over to wash the sand out of her hair. Link sits, careful to not be thrown by a casual wave.

"Yes, I've seen you before, Oshus repeats, at once the great whale and the old man. "It was a long time ago- I think it may have been a dream. Would you listen?"

Link gives his assent with neither spoken word nor a movement of his body; Oshus feels an emotion rush through him, and it manifests itself in two hundred seagulls suddenly bursting from beneath the waves. It's that boy again, the courageous little boy who lets his actions speak louder than his words.

"I was sleeping," he says, "And I had a dream. I dreamt of a stone- an island, if you will- and called it- what was it- oh, that doesn't matter. But Bellum found its way into my peaceful slumber and caused a great Nightmare...and then you came."

Link cocks his head thoughtfully. Oshus knows he understands.

"Yes...yes, washed up on the beach, naught but a sword and a shield to your name. I have heard from others that fate has a tendency to play games with you- but destiny or irony, it has happened again."

He sighs, happy. Far in the distance, the sun relaxes and begins to lower itself, setting the sea on fire.

"Koholint. That is what I named it- Koholint Island. And I am the Wind Fish, and you are the Hero of Winds…"

Far away, from a place so distant it could have been a thought, there came the sound of a woman singing a mournful ballad for them both.


	2. You're It

**Title**: You're It**  
Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Majora's Mask)_  
Pairing/Characters_: Link, Fierce Deity's Mask  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Note: In Japan, when kids play tag, instead of being called 'It' you'd be called the 'oni', or 'demon'. The original script for Majora's Mask meant to play on this - the Fierce Deity's Mask is originally called the Oni Mask.

"Let's play a game of tag," the Skull Kid says, his voice muffled through Majora's mask. "You can be the oni…I'll be waiting."

And he disappears, gone to the center of the moon where Link knows his three days will come to an end. Either he will stop its descent and save Termina, or- he doesn't even know what the other option is. There is no such thing as cautious courage.

It takes several minutes before Link is aware that he is holding the mask.

It's a strange-looking mask- not like any that he's seen before, and the past three days have taught him more than his fair share about hiding one's face. There is a strange lightness to it, a breathy airiness, a strange aura-

_Put me on, little boy._

Link looks up, then back into the thing in his hands. A mask has never spoken to him before…except Majora's mask.

_Come, boy. Don't you want to save your precious world?_

He wonders for a moment if he should toss it away, far away from him- that perhaps this thing is more evil than anything he has faced before. But this time, just as every time before that, Link can only feel the empty space in his heart and wonder what it is like to fear.

_Oh?_ It seems pleased. _You're __**that**__ boy, are you? I can't say I've corrupted better men than you. Come, let's battle- us against Majora, and your will versus mine._

And maybe his inability to feel fear is his greatest weakness; because of it, he can never make the safest choice.

_Safety is relative, little boy. Give me your body and we'll destroy your enemies together._

He can't trust the Fierce Deity's mask, but he has no other choice- not that fate has forced him into a corner, but he has no capacity to choose. He breathes out slowly and glides it over his face.

There is no such thing as cautious courage.


	3. Again and Again and Again

**Title**: Again and Again and Again  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, the Hero's Spirit  
Warning(s): Even flagranter abuse of reincarnation theory.  
Genre: Gen

It is a place that exists outside of time and space- a small field of snow that is not cold, and a hazy castle town far in the distance that will never be close enough to touch. The Hero's Spirit exists in it through time, waiting and watching, watching and waiting. There comes a day when his skills are needed again and a boy learns to sing with him. Hyrule is suffering; the Evil King's Spirit has awoken.

And when the Evil King wakes so will the Hero and the Princess again and again and again and again.

His form is of a blue-eyed wolf. The Hero's Spirit pauses to reflect that their common soul is becoming refined- they were once a Link whose form in the world of darkness was a rabbit.

He trains the new Link hard, not allowing him rest or food for hours at a time; there is much to learn, much he needs to give to him before the world comes undone. But his world is a world of death and time long gone, and the new Link- an emissary of light, as they all were- can only stay for so long before leaving for his precious world.

When he comes for the last time, he bears- a gift. The Hero's Spirit prepares to teach him the Great Spin, a skill that all Links throughout time have called upon in times of peril, but instead of the sword of his home village he draws-

"The Master Sword," the Hero's Spirit breathes. He is still not used to speaking- death has loosed the bind of courage on his lips. "May I see it?"

The living Link looks to him, perhaps wondering if he knows, then kneels and holds out the sword in a gesture of non-violence.

It is a beautiful thing, the Master Sword, a dream spun of the one thing all the wisdom and power and courage in the world will never find alone- hope. Just holding sends him back, back to that time long gone, to the day he grabbed the hilt with his small hands and a column of light and time spun him to sleep for seven years.

"It is still beautiful," he says, handing it back. "Treat it with the respect it deserves. It has saved us more than once."

Link knows, of course, because the Hero's Spirit is as much a part of him as the Triforce of Courage is. He holds it at ready, and the communion of souls begins.


	4. Change is the Only

**Title**: Change is the Only  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  
_Pairing/Characters_: Ilia, Link  
Warning(s): None.  
Genre: Gen

Nobody says so, but Ilia is sure everybody can tell. When Link returns to Ordon after what was originally supposed to be a quick trip to the capital to deliver a gift, he's changed.

There are superficial changes- he's grown taller, his skin is a shade darker- and the not-so-superficial. His demeanour has changed from shy and boyish to…well, _different_. His blue eyes, wide and now flecked with a hint of grey, are wise, and kind, and- old. She imagines that he's seen things that no mortal should ever see, fought things that none should ever face, and it's made him grow up in a very short spot of time.

She watches him train with Father, recoils in shock at first when she sees his naked torso. It's covered in cuts criss-crossing everywhere as though he fought six hundred swords at the same time- here a burn from fire, there a burn from cold. He's skinnier than he used to be but more powerfully built, less a ranch hand and more a swordsman, and it makes her oddly sad.

She feels like she's lost him somewhere.

At night she sometimes wakes when he strolls by her house (he never used to be awake at night) she senses a great sadness radiating out from him. He turns his head up to the moon and she can _feel_ the arch of his neck, the tensing of his vocal cords, a long moan, a wolf's howl. (She can't quite explain the wolf part, but there's something about him- well, never mind.)

She desperately wants to reach out and shoulder a portion of his pain, but she knows she can't, and that's what hurts the most. Whatever it was and whoever he lost, she gets the feeling that someone's decided that he has to deal with it all by himself.


	5. What I Do Is Me

**Title**: What I Do Is Me  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (-ish)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, Zelda  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

And so, the world at peace, Link drifted away from the Kokiri and began to grow up. The Royal Family offered him a position at the head of the Hyrule Knights; Link was not old enough, nor was he ready. He needed some quiet time on his own to sort out who he was and who he was supposed to be.

Lake Hylia became a favourite spot for him. Often he'd spend hours fishing or swimming or idly lying on the grass, listening to the sound of the waves gently touching the shore. After some time the men of science would come from their nearby laboratory and speak with him, though they learned quickly of his silence.

But in the end, they were men of science, and the nature of his muteness interested them; they implored him to come into their building and allow them to perform tests on him. A peaceful world needs courage but not of his variety, so for a lack of any better way to be of use he agreed.

He could make sounds, of course- like an animal, cries and yells and grunts- but did not speak any language. People seemed to intuitively understand what he wanted to purchase from their stores, what questions he needed answered, without him saying so. They poked and prodded him, set up experiments, got him to fight monsters with and without his sword, and had no luck.

A breakthrough was made on the day Princess Zelda and King Daphnes came to visit.

He was sitting on a nearby table as they showed them graphs and charts and explained about windows and childhood development of language. One of the scientists mentioned that it was a shame that Link had no words at all; it was as if someone had sealed them away. Zelda stepped over to Link and took his left hand in hers. He looked up, into her eyes.

"I am," he said.

"You are what?" Zelda let his hand down. The scientists scribbled madly, then looked up with pens poised, but Link would say no more.

There is no distinction, really, between being and doing, between doing and saying. The courageous are those who speak through their actions, and through their actions define themselves. And Link, whose entire self is courage, ultimately defines himself by existing.

x x x

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:  
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;  
Selves—goes itself; _myself_ it speaks and spells,  
Crying _What I do is me: for that I came._

_Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'As Kingfishers Catch Fire'_


	6. Wolf

**Title**: Wolf  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, Epona  
Warning(s): None.  
Genre: Gen

She's only a horse, but she'd like to think that she's an important horse.

She's been with her master for a long time now - bought as a foal for the owner of the village ranch, she doesn't remember much of being ridden by him, other than that he was clumsy and often hurt her by accident. She was not about to let some untrained human on her.

Her master, however, had drawn her to him before he had ever climbed on her back. The boy was six years old and already losing his voice when she was given to him and the attraction was instantaneous. It had not even been a full year before she could barely stand to be away from him.

Now that he's no longer a goatherd and she's no longer a goatherd's horse, their bond has grown only stronger. She's carried him faithfully through rain, through darkness, and to the edge of twilight where no living thing would ever dare exist. Steadfast she's fought back the creatures that sought to destroy the both of them, who rode her with steel and hard words until she felt her mind give out.

But there are times when her mind is once again ill at ease, when her master is gone for long periods of time and night falls around her, bristling with spears. _Colts who wander into the night are devoured by wolves_, Mother used to say. _The Goddesses created wolves to punish naughty colts._

It comes one morning deep into their journey that her master rides her hard to the edge of Kakariko and dismounts like water jumps off the fur of a newborn colt. He takes her head in his hands, touches his forehead to hers, and breathes. They remain like that for a while.

_Epona safe_, he says, finally. His shadow stirs impatiently.

_Link make safe_, she says, confused by the urgency in his thoughts. _Love Link much._

_Epona safe_, he repeats. _Link good wolf._

_Link-_ his shadow rises above them, the sound of twilight covering her words. He falls to the ground as the great dark swallows him. She rears up, frightened past her years, a wolf in her midst.

_Link good wolf_, he says. His link to her is stronger than when he was a man- for he is a beast now, and she an animal. _Link good wolf_.

_Change back_, she whispers. She doesn't care that this- creature perversion can talk to her twice as well or that he sees the world as she does. All she sees is her master swathed in the clothes of a terrible thing.

_The Goddesses created wolves to punish naughty colts._


	7. As Distant As a Dream

**Title**: As Distant As a Dream  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelda, Link  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

She had watched Link leave on his little boat, waving solemnly towards her as it slipped towards the horizon. A safe world had little use for someone like him; he needed some time to figure out exactly who he was, and for what he was to live for in a world that needed no heroes.

He returned, six months later, a changed man.

She saw it in his eyes before anything - a sparkle, but a dead sparkle, as though he'd seen something great and it had slipped from his fingers. His skin was darker and he had obviously lost some weight. His green tunic was gone, replaced with a similar one cast in red. He carried no bags with him as he strode through the castle to his quarters; he never did, because he had a habit of losing things or at the very least having things taken from him.

She felt a great sadness. It seemed to be some sort of fated joke - he had found some trouble on a journey that should have been peaceful, just as he had in every other iteration of his ancestry. And she, for all her wisdom, could do nothing but try to understand, find that small space within herself that knew what it meant to be troubled.

Late in the night, she apprehended one of the chambermaids taking a tray of food to his room and requested that she deliver it, hoping that she would be able to accost some sort of image from him. She found him lying on his bed, staring out the window into the stars.

He didn't speak, of course, but she never expected him to. From their hours of silence together she was able to piece together something - the image of a girl, a whale, and a beautiful island that had only been a dream. It was a dream that he himself had ended.

Great sadness, indeed. Every castle that he touched was fated to crumble.


	8. Will You Save Us

**Title**: Will You Save Us  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, Bo  
Warning(s): None.  
Genre: Gen

Link was a strange boy, that was for sure. Being mayor of a small town like Ordon left one rather impervious to oddities, but only an idiot wouldn't notice something a little off-kilter about that boy.

It had been a cold and clear night when the little basket had shown up on his doorstep. Ilia's mother had still been alive back then, and was about eight months along -- they really didn't need another mouth to feed what with all the preparations for the coming baby, but who could deny a home to the little abandoned year-old who wasn't even afraid enough to cry?

He had never been the most talkative child. He was curt but polite even as a four-year-old, never spoke above a whisper and every word seemed as though he had to force it out at the end of a breath. A visiting Kakariko doctor had found nothing out of the ordinary with the boy's throat and said it was just in his character.

When Ilia was seven and Link was eight, he had used the power vested in him as mayor and purchased a horse for the bumbling fool at the ranch thinking it would help him herd the goats. It didn't, of course. She was as strong and as wild as they came (perhaps the reason she was so inexpensive -- but beggars can't be choosers, and Ordon was no Castle Town) and generally terrorized the town. A meeting was called after she decided to uproot every pumpkin she could find, and Sera suggested they put her out of her miserable state for the sake of the town. No other answers could be found.

So he, being the mayor and the first in line for all sorts of terrible jobs, took up a knife and his iron boots (it was all he had back then) and made it halfway out the door. It was then that Link raised his hand, announced in a startlingly clear voice that he would save them all, and walked right up to the rampaging thing.

Naturally, they were all shocked by the sound that had burst out of the boy. But when he took the horse's nose gently in his hand, touched his head to its head and calmed her right down, even Rusl admitted that the boy was the weirdest thing to ever find his way into the town.

Those were the last words that Link ever spoke -- _I will save you all_.


	9. Poor Fit

**Title**: Poor Fit  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, Zelda  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

The suit, he knows, is hand-spun in silk taffeta by the finest tailors in Hyrule to fit him exactly, fabric so expensive it might take a year's worth of milk to pay for an arm's width. Despite the exquisite draping and the custom-tailored size he is rather – no, quite – uncomfortable in it as Zelda takes his hand and leads him away from the table towards yet another pack of socialites and politicians.

There are a hundred thousand places he'd rather be than in a suit at some sort of Castle Town gala – Lake Hylia, where he was swimming just that morning before five hundred maids and butlers dragged him back to the castle, or herding goats in Ordon, or training with the Goron, or sliding down the mountain with Yeto, or out with Epona in the plains, the wind in his hair, the familiar weight of the Master Sword on his back…

"…Eglantine," Zelda says, shaking him out of his momentary reverie. "Madame Eglantine, may I introduce you to the Hero Chosen by the Gods, Link."

Link bows, an uncomfortable gesture that he hasn't quite mastered yet. Madame Eglantine claps her hands together in a naturally patronizing way; he is suddenly overpowered by her perfume, his nose sensitive to the smell of harmful toxins after his journey. She is short and frighteningly thin, blonde hair curled around her painted face, and by someone's standards she is probably attractive. "He's so _adorable_. And you say he doesn't speak?"

"No, Madame. According to the scriptures handed down in the Royal Family, the Hero is unable to speak. You may remember the saying we have about the courageous speaking through their actions, not their-"

"Ooh! I want to see it." She moves to take his left hand in hers. Out of reflex more than anything he snatches the hand away, suddenly lamenting the fact that the suit did not come with gloves.

"-Words," Zelda finishes. "Please excuse us. We have other guests to entertain."

As they walk away Link wishes that these people could learn to understand who he is and where he comes from, that he knows nothing about how to be polite or condescending and that he has spent more time awash in monstrous blood than in expensive cologne. Zelda must sense his pain because she reaches down with her right hand and takes his left, and courage and wisdom come together to create a little bit of peace where he needs it most.


	10. And the World Goes On

**Title**: And the World Goes On**  
Fandom**: The Legend of Zelda_  
Pairing/Characters_: Zelda  
Warning(s): Character death  
Genre: Gen  
Originally written on 10 April, the 100th day of the year.

Link died easily, and they burned his corpse. Based on what they understood of the scriptures, they spread his ashes in every crevice of the world -- from the heights of Death Mountain, to the edges of the Gerudo Desert, to the bottom of Lake Hylia. They wept as they watched their hero fade away, leaving their world to join the spirits of the heroes that had come before him.

Zelda was old now, and heavy with the burden of four children and a kingdom; she loved her country, but her time was drawing close. She said nothing at his funeral but that which she was forced by tradition to say. Afterward she hugged her children, shook her husband's hand, and retreated into her room.

She stayed there alone for days, eating little, looking out her window, gazing down at her world below. She saw no-one and answered questions as to whether or not she was alive with a single world. At the end of the seventh day, she came.

"Princess Zelda," Nayru said, appearing as a lit shadow of a female form draped in watery blue.

"Nayru," Zelda returned, not looking towards her. The symbol on her left hand glowed in response to the presence of her goddess. "How is your world?"

"It's your world as well, my princess." She sat on the bed next to Zelda and patted her right hand. "He's with us. And now-"

"-I must go with you as well."

There was a short silence. "Yes, my princess. Your time has come."

Zelda sighed, stood, and walked over to the window. She pressed her hand to the pane of glass; the bars on it had not come down, even in their safe world. "And tell me, Nayru. How many years until Ganon rises again? Why must he -- why must we do this _forever_?"

"My princess. You ask of forces greater than even I or my sisters. Fate, Princess Zelda, answers to none but herself."

"I suppose you're right. The Triforce will go to my first daughter, then?"

"Yes, my lady. And it will show itself when the time comes. If you will?"

She held out her right hand, which Nayru took, and that which was the corporeal Princess Zelda fell to the ground. Goddess and princess phased through the wall and flew over the land of Hyrule, over the land and ocean, to a place far beyond the land of the living.

Zelda and Link died easily. The world goes on.


	11. Small Hands

**Title**: Small Hands  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

She's been waiting for a long time. Which she supposes is good, because the only reason she should be removed from this place is if the world is in immediate peril. Even so – she's a bit lonely. Those small hands that held her time and time again in ages past were comforting as a lullaby comforts the sleeping children of the world.

Suddenly, she feels a shift in the currents of light. Something is approaching, something born of shadow. She bristles, ready to reject whatever has come to steal her from the small hands she belongs in.

No - it is not born of shadow. As the wind shifts and the scent draws nearer, she can taste a lonely heart of light wrapped in borrowed clothes. The shuffling of paws, the heartbeat of a princess…could it be? Could it be those brave hands, born again?

A blue-eyed beast appears from the loving embrace of the forest, proud and without fear. There is an immediate connection. Flooding into her are memories of great journeys, terrible danger, a boy haphazardly becoming a man. Small hands. She can feel those small hands on her hilt again, pulling her out, filling a void of seven years –

The wolf walks slowly in circles around her, the pressure pushing on his shadow. She does what she can to draw her cloak inward. If only he could touch her, the light would purify the wolf and draw out the hero. She needs him as he needs her and the world needs her.

He howls in frustration, pushing hard on the spiritual energy that is supposed to protect her from shadows and evil. She joins him, crying out in need for him to come close – closer – closer –

There is a great flash of light when he connects with the sword promised to him by the Goddesses. She feels a great wave of calm. The tiny hands surround her, and her world is whole once again.


	12. Speak

**Title**: Speak  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link(s)  
Warning(s): Extremely flagrant-er abuse of reincarnation theory.  
Genre: Gen

"Link," the first Link said. The fire he was seated by threw long shadows on his face.

"Link," the second said. This continued on around the circle; there were six men there, all named Link, and he supposed he was the seventh. They were all of various ages and heights, but all dressed in green, all Hylians, and all with the mark on their left hand.

"You can speak, now," one of them said. Except for six men, the logs they sat on, and a fire pit there was only black forever and forever – not even a pile of sticks to keep the fire going, yet it seemed to not consume anything. "It's a little odd at first, I know. But you're as dead as the rest of us, so you can talk. Why don't you start by telling us how old you were when you lost your voice?"

"S-Se…ven," he managed. It had been years since he uttered his last words, and it rolled over his tongue and around in his mouth. "Seven."

"Seven years old? Pretty young – I was twelve."

"And I was six. It happens when it happens."

One of them moved to the side and motioned for him to sit down. He did, taking his place in between him and the Link who had been silenced at the age of twelve, who turned towards him. "Heard a telepathic cry from Zelda…my time's Zelda, at least, and never spoke again."

His ears perked up at the name, but he supposed that if he had been born that many times than so had she – and Ganondorf as well. He nodded, and at their insistence, added 'I see'.

"Didn't have a fairy," the Link who lost it when he was six said. "I woke up one day to the sight of one, and that was it."

They went around again, then, each explaining his story of the moment when he went from farm boy or blacksmith or knight to hero. Then they got the story of his journey out of him, from the first tendrils of twilight to when dawn finally broke. They talked for what felt like hours, sharing stories and laughter and tears, and when it seemed like there were no things left to talk about he felt a great tremor within him.

"Oh – this one's young," one of the Links said. "Almost as young as me. Something happened to his sister…it looks like it's time."

Far away, in the land of the living, a little boy named Link looked out to the ocean and spoke his last words.


	13. Another Half

**Title**: Another Half  
**Fandom**: The Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelda, Sahasralah  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

She is ten when her father takes her to the royal library and motions towards a small door hidden and neglected in the back. The handle is dusty and the hinges squeak as she tries to push it open; when it is clear that her ten-year-old body is no match for the surprisingly heavy door, her father opens it for her with one hand and guides her into the darkness.

A magician in their family's staff follows them, as well as the oldest, wisest-looking man she has ever seen. The former conjures up fire to light a torch her father is carrying, then bows and leaves. Her father holds it up high to illuminate the room, though the light does not have far to go to accomplish that.

It is a small room, filled with dust that dances upon their intrusion in rays of torchlight, but it is filled from ceiling to floor with paper – there are books, maps, manuscripts, and diaries than she has ever seen in one place before. Tables and chairs are haphazardly placed, and the old man takes a seat only after her father does. She does not sit, knowing she would be chastised for soiling her gown.

"Zelda," her father says, and turns towards the old man, "This is Sahasralah. Show your respect."

"It is an honour," she says, and curtsies low, careful not to upset anything near her

Sahasralah nods towards her without looking, turns to an old bookshelf and pulls off an older book, blowing the dust off the cover before opening it. She can make out _Mudora_ in faint letters. "The honour is mine, Your Majesty, though you must forgive my rudeness. We've little time before he puts his plan into motion. Do you know of the legends of the Hero of Time?"

"A little," she admits, and follows her father's gaze until she is sitting next to him. "The legends speak of a Hylian raised by fairies, who –"

" –Ah, but that's only half of it – come, sit on my lap. I have a story to tell you about a girl named Zelda, just like you. She was sitting in her courtyard, playing the Ocarina…"


	14. And Mused a Little Space

**Title**: And Mused a Little Space  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Link, Zelda  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Title blatantly stolen from Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott. Thanks, Alf!

Link took to fishing during his precious few moments of downtime. If they were in between locations and happened to come by a body of water he would stop Epona, pull out his rod and pull of his shoes, and fish. He wasn't really doing it to catch them; occasionally he would keep one if they were low on rupees and needed some food, but otherwise he was just holding his rod in the water and watching the light catch on the surface.

At first Midna found the whole thing ridiculous. He was wasting time, precious time that could be spent working towards a goal, working towards the salvation of both of their worlds. But as she got to know him better she realized that Link had a stubborn streak that was less childish and more necessary – without the ability to speak, he was forced to do things without asking for permission. Link was only human. He needed time to rest. And so Midna took to watching him, rather than impatiently egging him to move on to wherever they were headed.

Sometimes he would sigh, a low, sad little sound, and his eyes would grow a bit darker. She would muse a little space for the immensity of his task. Other times he would stare at nothing in particular and enjoy the tiny little moment hanging in space and time where he was at peace, just a fishing rod and the water and a farm boy with a destiny larger than he was. Those times, she would mourn for the silent human who only wanted to herd goats, not hold a sword. But Link was stubborn enough to not back down from the task he was given. Stubbornness, courage – sometimes, she found, they were the same thing.

So Link would fish, and Midna would muse, and they would both breathe easy for a few seconds before moving on.


	15. A Wolf At Night

**Title**: A Wolf At Night  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Ilia, Link  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

Ilia still sometimes wakes, shaking and covered in a thin layer of perspiration, from the dream. Even a year could not put enough distance between her and the beginnings of nightmares to guarantee peaceful slumber.

She hates the dream, hates the memories of tendrils of twilight as they wrap around her mind and steal everything she has, not even leaving her name behind. She hates turning away from the boy she loves because she doesn't remember him. It makes her skin crawl and her eyes burn; her heart spills over and stops her from breathing.

But what she hates most isn't the dream itself. It's waking up in the middle of the night and trying to fall back asleep, because that's when she hears the noises. It's a definite sound of scraping and scratching and panting and lowing like there is a monster in the village looking for girls to eat.

She went out to investigate once, and only once, and no matter how hard she tries she cannot forget what happened.

She had pushed open the front door and winced at the sound it made. The air was cool and refreshing, smelling of not much of anything; being the person she was she took the opportunity to close her eyes and savour the sensation of night-time.

A soundless shift in the air caused her to pause. When she opened her eyes she probably would have screamed if she wasn't so terrified – two feet in front of her, staring at her with intensely blue eyes, was a wolf.

When she remembers that night she wraps her arms around her chest and knees, and looks to the empty house north of the village. It isn't the memory of the wolf that she hates most. It's that she knows it was Link.


	16. A Journey to Take

**Title**: A Journey to Take  
**Fandom**: Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Bo, Link  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

So Link returned to Ordon after all his trials, and half-heartedly went back to herding goats. But everyone could tell his heart wasn't in it anymore – somewhere along the way he had lost his boyish charm and his ability to be tied to one place.

Often they'd catch him staring off into nowhere in particular, his blue-grey eyes unfocused, yet turned to a point on the horizon. He'd spend long moments like that, especially around twilight; they all understood without words that he was reminiscing, or at least reflecting. A journey is never complete with a little self-improvement, and a journey as big as Link's was bound to leave his heart in enough pieces that it would take a while to reassemble himself to the point where he could at the very least recognize the face in the mirror.

Eventually, the state of affairs could no longer be tolerated. Link needed something the town couldn't give him – a big, open road and nothing to hold him down, but in Ordon he would only find work and gossip. So they got together, arranged some food and brought Epona to the goat field where he was lying on the grass staring up at the sun.

"Go," Bo said, holding the bundle and the reins out towards him. Link got up and looked towards them; some of the villagers had to look away, the power of his gaze penetrating them. "Ordon isn't the place for you right now. Go and find what is."

He couldn't speak – he hadn't spoken for years – but smiled as he took their gifts, and thanked them with a nod of his head. In a swift, practiced motion he mounted Epona and waved as they left town, heading towards Hyrule Field and wherever the pieces of him were scattered.

Bo hugged his daughter, who cried from shame and frustration that they could not help Link. But Link had a journey to take, and it was one he needed to take alone.


End file.
